Akron residents, and indeed those all over various states, have been cautioned of a deceptive new twist on an old grift. The Akron Police Department has warned against a scam involving unsolicited packages delivered to homes featuring QR codes that, once scanned, put personal and financial information at risk of theft by scammers. The phenomenon, known as a "brushing" scam, has been recurrent enough for the local department to issue an alert via their Facebook page.
These unexpected deliveries can sometimes take on the guise of gifts from big-name retailers like Amazon, but often, they arrive without the sender's information. Akron Police explained that the packages usually contain items such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, and Bluetooth speakers, according to WKYC. When these innocuous-seeming packages are opened, recipients find a QR code allegedly revealing the sender, but scanning it could potentially lead to all information on the phone being compromised.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has also chimed in on the issue, highlighting that such items are often lightweight and cheap to ship, including things like ping pong balls and seeds from China. They alert that legitimate companies such as Amazon have also taken steps to educate consumers on identifying and avoiding these scams. The Akron Police endorse this guidance, stating you can keep the gift or toss it and not scan the QR code, as reported by FOX8.
Experts advise caution when handling QR codes from unexpected sources. "Don’t scan QR codes that are not in expected places," Alex Hamerstone, Director at TrustedSec Advisory Solutions, stressed in an interview with News 5 Cleveland. He also comforted residents that, by law, they can keep unsolicited packages but underscored the danger posed when such packages do not include the sender's information or request the scanning of a QR code.
